Record-breaking female jockey Hollie Doyle fears for the future of racing due to Covid-19 restrictions closing stadiums and betting shops
- New Tier 4 restrictions could remain in place for many months to come
- Sport must take place behind closed doors and betting shops have to close
- The latest shutdown is a huge blow ahead of the big Boxing Day meetings
Hollie Doyle is concerned for the future of racing, with the latest Covid-19 restrictions set to keep spectators out of meetings for months.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned at the weekend that new Tier 4 restrictions could remain in place until a coronavirus vaccine is rolled out more widely later next year.
Under those rules, sport must take place behind closed doors and even betting shops have to close.
Jockey Hollie Doyle finished third in Sunday night’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year
More than a third of the population are in Tier 4, with another third in Tier 3, which also prohibits crowds from attending sporting events.
The timing of the latest shutdown is a huge blow ahead of the traditional big Boxing Day fixtures, including Kempton and its King George VI Chase.
And record-breaking female jockey Doyle, who finished third at Sunday night’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year, said: ‘It is going to be hard. We have proven we can adapt and keep the show on the road, like we did early on while everyone else was in lockdown.
‘But the longer we have no crowds, it is going to become increasingly difficult to sustain everything.
‘There is a huge food chain and at the moment it is very stretched. I don’t know how much more it can take. Everyone is doing all they can to keep things up and running.’
